Question

In the question below are given two sentences numbered I and II. In these sentences, two homonyms are given in italics type, which may be either misspelt or inappropriate in the context of the sentence. Read both the sentences carefully and decide on their correctness basis of the italicized words.
I.Deepak did not get involved in the scandal on account of his friend’s wise councel.
II. Some of the members of counsil walked out in the protest during the session.
Option a- Only sentence I is correct.
Option b-Only sentence II is correct.
Option c- Both the sentences I and II are correct.
Option d- I as well as II are incorrect, but both could be made correct by interchanging the italicized words.
Option e- Neither I nor II is correct, and the sentence could not be made correct by interchanging the italicized words.

Answer 1

Hint: Read the sentences and try to understand what they are trying to convey. Recall the meaning of the italicised words and check whether they help the sentences express themselves best or not.

Complete answer: Homonyms indicate those words that have the same pronunciation or spelling but different meanings and origins. Example- hear and here, bear and bear, etc.
 Let’s look at the two given statements-
I- Deepak did not get involved in the scandal on account of his friend’s wise councel. Here, the spelling of ‘counsel’ is wrong. ‘Counsel’ refers to advice or guidance.
II. Some of the members of counsil walked out in the protest during the session. Here, the spelling of ‘council’ is wrong. ‘Council’ refers to a committee or board of members.
Now, let’s decipher the meaning of the given options-
Option a- ‘Only sentence I is correct’ is an incorrect option because both the statements are incorrect.
Option b- ‘Only sentence II is correct’ is an incorrect option because both the statements are incorrect.
Option c- ‘Both the sentences I and II are correct’ is an incorrect option because both the statements are incorrect.
Option d- ‘I as well as II are incorrect, but both could be made correct by interchanging the italicized words’ is an incorrect option because the spellings of the homonyms are incorrect.
Option e- ‘Neither I nor II is correct, and the sentence could not be made correct by interchanging the italicized words’ is the correct option because both the given homonyms have wrong spellings.
The correct answer is Option ‘e’.

Note: Homonyms are also known as homophones because both have the same function. Also, do not get confused between different words, first understand their meanings and origin.